Cajun Country

Rice Growing in Western Louisiana

 We finally left Texas and soon entered the Cajun Country, west of New Orleans.  The area is comprised of prairie like terrain where cattle are raised and rice is grown and well as marshes and swamps.  A huge attraction for me is the regional food, unusual cooking ingredients and techniques.  A whole blog will cover that.

Palmetto State Park

We drove to see the newest State Park, Palmetto Island, a beautiful but somewhat remote park.  I kept a close watch on Raggie after seeing the sign about gators.


It took me several hours to go through brochures with attractions and look at maps to begin to narrow what we want to see.  There is so much of interest.  I will do a special blog on food since that interests me a great deal and this is an area of great regional specialty.

Old Ships and Oil

When you travel with a gear head you see more machines that you can count.  This will be a short post as we are heading to Louisiana today.

While in Houston there have been 5 old ships.  I visited one, saw two from afar and declined to climb over two more, enjoying my audio book instead in the car with Raggie.

USS Selma-a concrete ship

One of the ships was the USS Selma, constructed in WWI of concrete as steel was in short supply.  When it was disabled in Tampico, Mexico it was towed to Galveston Bay where a trough was dredged and it has lived there since.  No one could figure out how to repair the concrete ship.

The best ship was the USS Texas, which was built prior to WWI where she served and she also served three important invasions in WWII as well, Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.  

USS Texas-The only WWI AND WWII ship left

We learned that the small brig housed 20 Japanese POW's plus one US Sailor who stole 5 packs of Fig Newtons.  Under the Geneva Convention the POW's ate food from the mess, the naughty sailor had bread and water.  There were only 4-5 very small cells for all those confined.  The sailors' regular  bunks fascinated me.  I am sure that some Federal judge would find such sleeping quarters unconstitutional if used in a prison.

Ocean Star Drilling Rig

Oil is a BIG deal in Texas.  We see endless refineries, oil barges and tanker ships in the channels and waterways of Texas.  An admittedly clever oil industry ploy but interesting attraction is the Ocean Star Drilling Rig Museum.  The museum tells you more that you can take in about how ocean drilling is done.  The Ocean Star was in service in the gulf and is a "jack up rig," one of several types of drilling rigs.  It displays the machinery (my eyes are crossed) and explains how the employees live on board.  You can even see a blow out valve-the thing that failed in the BP Gulf disaster.  

I was so taken with the work that I applied for and was awarded a job on a rig.

Galveston

The last time we were here it was just a few months after Hurricane Ike hit the island and did so much damage.    When we saw it the place was a mess, it was 100 degrees in June and the standing water provided endless breeding places for the mosquitos.  We left after one night and headed for the lovely Hill Country.

Since then most structures have been repaired or town down though if you look there are still boarded up buildings.  My clever plan to avoid the New Orleans Mardi Gras was somewhat foiled when I discovered that Galveston also celebrates Mardi Gras.

Even Modest Shotgun Houses are decked out 

Galveston Mardi Gras Revelry

The history of Texas and Galveston is pretty fascinating.  In the early 1800's there was an influx of scoundrels, opportunists and people escaping debts that headed out to Texas, then part of Mexico.  A common notice posted on vacated premises  in the US was GTT-gone to Texas.  Land was available for 12 1/2 cents per acre, 10% of what it would be in the  US.  For some time the new immigrants assimilated but in the 1830's Mexico restricted immigration to Mexicans and Europeans, required people to practice Catholicism, imposed stringent duties on commerce and prohibited Texans from forming a militia.  In 1836 Texas declared independence and elected David Burnet as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

"Except for a decisive battle on the banks of the San Jacinto River, Galveston might have gone down as the second Alamo and Texas might be part of Mexico."

I really liked the mental picture of Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto:

            "On the afternoon of the 18 minute decisive battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna was relaxing in his 3-room tent,     smoking opium and -legend has it-dallying with a mulatto servant girls who would henceforth be known as the 'Yellow Rose of Texas".

Here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyZpOAyGq1Q

For a long time Galveston was very important economically.  It was the biggest port west of New Orleans and a few families controlled the island.  To this day people are identifieds as BOI (born on the island) or not.  I think Vashon should adopt the term BOI and there are many to this day despite the  influx of us Californians.  The Civil War had little effect and the island continued to prosper, in part due to successful blockade running. The Houston area dredged a ship channel and that changed the balance.  While there is still a port in Galveston, Houston and the surrounding area have become the powerhouse.  Twenty-five % of petroleum products leave the US via Houston.

Walking around the historic district is a treat.  The architecturally interesting structures are endless as are the historical plaques.  One of my favorite areas is the former red light district, now cute shops and restaurants.

The 1900 Hurricane Isaac leveled Galveston, and caused an estimated 6,000 deaths or about 15% of the population.  The city hired a panel of engineers who proposed the 17 foot sea wall facing the gulf and raising the island by 8'.  This was approved and it took a few years during which 2000 structures were raised.  Material was dredged to add height and the residents put up with mud, construction and detours.  We were told that the 2008 Hurricane Ike had many of the same characteristics as did Isaac but only 35 died.  As always some declined to leave when asked, ordered and threatened.  I liked that the Mayor told them there would be no dispatch of emergency personnel to save them because they stayed behind to save their color tv!  During Ike the sea wall held but the shallow bay was swamped by storm surge and the waste covered the island from the bayside.

The building below is in the historic district and the line on the brick shows where the water level was after Hurrican Ike.

Refrigerator Magnets

This is a completely silly post but I have lots of serious material and am behind in my posts.  I have however had a nice glass of wine and don't have the ambition to talk about Texas history, Galveston's past or the recent trip to the USS Texas.

Instead, I will confess to my travel indulgence, which is buying refrigerator magnets from places we visit.  They are cheap and don't take up much room.  Except, I am starting to run out of space on the freezer door and don't know if the refrigerator door is a good candidate (it must be opened frequently).  Himself, being handy, has figured out the solution which is to have light gauge sheet metal sheared, and then attached to the facing of the slide-out trim.  That will provide about 540 square inches of new space for my magnet collection as we travel throughout the US.  The current collection is about 320 square inches, so himself should be thinking ahead.

The first magnet that caught my eye captured Boog's spirit.  I still miss that dog and can get pretty weepy looking at his many pictures.

"Strange Dog" -the muddy one

The next was from Hatch, New Mexico, acquired when we bought 40 pounds of frozen green chiles and it hasn't stopped since.

The current collection has pretty much consumed the freezer door.  Now that I am getting more discriminating, I had hoped for one that represented the Galveston Mardi Gras.  I purposely avoided New Orleans during the run up to Mardi Gras but lo and behold, it is a big deal in Galveston.  We missed the crowds on Saturday but ventured to the historic area on Sunday and found the PERFECT magnet reduced by 50% because the crowds were long gone.

Food and Old Houses

I was tempted to try Deep Fried Cheesecake but just couldn't

Cajun Seafood Boil

The idea that going on the road after the holidays would make it easy to cut back and lose a little weight didn't take into account gulf seafood, Texas BBQ, near the border Mexican food and the southern propensity for frying.  We saw lots of shrimpers on the Texas coast, smallish boats in Fulton that specialize in bay shrimp and oysters and large ones in Palacios that go out into the gulf.  I am told there are different licenses for the bay vs the gulf.  In Fulton the daily oyster catch was amazing, small boats,largely  manned by Asians and Hispanics, unloaded 100lb sacks of oysters each afternoon.  Just wish I liked them as they couldn't be fresher.  The bay shrimp were not available so I content myself with buying a pound of gulf shrimp and cooking up a stir fry.  That was pretty healthy, as was the cajun seafool boil.  It is like the new england version with shrimp, crab, potatoes, spicy sausage, potatoes and corn.  The difference is that the seasoning is hot and spicy.  Can't wait to try it with king and dungeness crab.  They even sell spicey boiled potatoes as a side down here.  I bought a package of seasoning to make it easy.  

We also found a great restaurant called JD's, run by a former Coastie (Coast Guard) who had served in the Aleutians and Bering Sea.  They serve humungous meals at low prices so we always got dinner and the next day's lunch for one price.  Because they had no liquor license you could BYOB.  We bought a nice bottle of wine but noticed that the boys at the next table brought a CASE of beer.  The waitress didn't bat an eye and brought a pail of ice to keep it cold.

Fulton House

DJ's Shrimp Taco and Shrimp Po'Boy

Right next to our RV Park was the Fulton Mansion built in 1877 in what was then a pretty remote area.  The owner, George Fulton, was an engineer who included many very modern features such as gas lighting, central hot forced air heating as well as gravity fed flush toilets and bathtubs.  The construction was so strong that the house has withstood nearly 150 years of hurricane exposure, facing straight into the Aransas Bay.  

Whoopers and More

I was vaguely aware that Texas had lots of birding.  Texas is reputed to be, at least in the winter, home to more bird species than any other state in the union.  The coastal region in particular is the destination for the central and Mississippi flyways from the midwest and Canada.  It was a surprise to learn that our selection of Rockport/Fulton for the next stay bordered the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, the winter home of the only wild flock of Whooping Cranes.

Whooping Crane in flight

The "Whoopers" once dwindled to 21 birds from an estimated 10,000 when Europeans arrived in North America.  This flock winters in Canada's Northwest Territory.  They stand 5' tall with a 7.5' wingspan.  Their numbers diminished due to hunting and loss of habitat but have recovered a bit to over 400.  They eat a variety of things but their mainstay is the blue crab, the availability of which is influenced by rain and the status of the rivers feeding the bays and estuaries.  Having worked hard to eat one and found only a bit of meat, I would leave them all to the cranes and stick to my dungeness and king crab.

A fascinating effort to establish another flock, migrating from Wisconsin to Florida was undertaken.  The initial thought was to substitute Sandhill Cranes as parents when the Whooper eggs hatched.  That failed when the Whoopers refused to mate, having imprinted on the Sandhills.  The next effort was more effective.  Humans dressed up in Whooper suits, never spoke, played Whooper calls and imprinted the chicks on Ultralite airplanes.  When time to migrate came, the birds followed the plane, learning the route to Wisconsin.  Amazing what critter lovers will do to prevent extinction.

Ultralite Leading the Migration

 In addition to Whoopers our birding boat trip revealed dozens of other species, waterfowl, shorebirds, the fastest critter in the world, the peregrine falcon at 200 MPH, white and brown pelicans and the beautiful roseate spoonbill.

Roseate Spoonbill

The boat captain was said to have sold his 300 employee tech firm, left his wife behind, bought a boat settled into a life of guiding wildlife tours.  He seemed pretty happy.  When I asked if a raised wooden structure, decorated with reeds etc. was a blind,  he retorted that the environmentalists dream things up and the hunters pay for it.  Maybe a good compromise.


The 3 hour boat trip in the various bays and around the Wildlife Refuge also provided a closeup of the barge traffic which plies the inter-coastal waterway.  That waterway runs from Brownsville, TX to New York.  Tempting to buy a boat and cruise it.

Starting the Gulf Coast

Given the limited living space in Bella I mostly content myself with small fridge magnets when looking for souvenirs.  I never saw one for McAllen but thought this would represent my brother John well.

After leaving McAllen we headed northeast.  Many more miles of agriculture, cotton, sugar cane and veggies.  Just before reaching the gulf we began to see oil drilling companies and refineries replaced massive cotton storage facilities.  On the way through Corpus Christi we saw the USS Lexington, the

WWII aircraft carrier called the Blue Ghost by Tokyo Rose.  The Japanese kept reporting it sunk but it would appear again.  A subsequent tour proved somewhat overwhelming for me as it went on and on.  At the point of the engine room tour I had to return to the car to keep Raggie company.  Himself spent another 1 1/2 hours viewing all those fascinating engines, planes etc.

USS Lexington

Some of the highlights of the tour for me were the following:

A quite from a Military doctor, followed by pictures of a 101 year old veteran of WWI, and a vet from the Bataan Death March, a POW from the frozen North Korea, a survivor of Omaha Beach and a member of Merrill's Marauders.

The Navy does have a sense of humor

USS Lexington Bridge

USS Lexington Flight Deck

The ship tour was followed by more gulf seafood for lunch as well as a driving tour of Corpus Christi.  The downtown is quite nice and reminded me a bit of Long Beach, though better done.  The route back to Bella was via Padre Island, a very long barrier island.  The last leg off the island was via a short ferry ride which was free.

Padre Island Ferry